Newsletter

TV debate sparks fireworks among 12th District hopefuls

ATLANTA — Four Republicans running for Congress in the 12th District disagreed Sunday about how to take the seat from the Democrats and how to work with leaders of their own party.

The clashes came in a debate broadcast statewide on Georgia Public Broadcasting and hosted by the Atlanta Press Club.

The candidates have said much the same thing in their prior meetings. What was different was that Eugene Yu failed to appear. He had agreed to participate but simply didn’t show up at the Atlanta studio. Polls show him in second place.

“We have two decisions to make,” said John Stone. “No. 1, who can beat John Barrow? And No. 2, what do we do if we beat him?”

Stone, a former congressional aide, and Augusta businessman Rick Allen have run in the 12th before. Also in the race are state Rep. Delvis Dutton of Glennville and Macon nurse Diane Vann.

Stone argues that he should win because he is the only candidate to sign a pledge to not vote for Rep. John Boehner for another term as speaker of the House. That makes Stone an outsider among the House leadership with an insider’s knowledge as a former congressional aide of how the process works, he said.

Allen refused to burn his bridges with the leadership by saying how he would vote on the speaker. He did say he wants to be a leader there.

“I don’t agree with the leadership that we’ve had,” he said. “... Their intention is solely to keep their job. They are making decisions based on ideology.”

His approach to defeating Barrow is to make him responsible for all the spending increases since he began serving in Congress.

Dutton said he wants to be an example to nudge the leaders toward a culture change, arguing he had the same impact during his four years in the state legislature.

“In the name of the culture shift that we’ve seen in this country, there’s an appetite there,” he said, adding “The way you defeat barrow is showing his voting record.”

On specific issues, Stone favors abolishing the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Education. Allen opposes having a federal minimum wage and welfare spending, and Dutton says he favors drug testing welfare applicants and that the states should regulate the environment rather than the federal government.

The crowded race means a July runoff is likely, and then the eventual nominee will face Barrow in the November general election.